Assura plc (LON:AGR), the UK’s leading diversified healthcare REIT, has announced the completion of two development projects, which are its first schemes designed to be net zero carbon, and achievement of Gold Certification under the IWBI WELL Building Standard for the Northumbria Health and Care Academy.
Jonathan Murphy, CEO, said:
“Today’s announcement demonstrates delivery against our commitment to produce sustainable healthcare assets that offer a positive social impact to the communities they serve, while helping our healthcare customers to meet their net zero carbon aspirations.
“We have a clear, stated ambition to be net zero carbon by 2040 and the number one listed property business for long-term social impact. The completion of our first two developments applying the Assura Net Zero Carbon Design Guide marks further progress.
“I’m incredibly proud that our progressive approach to building design has been rewarded with the Northumbria Health and Care Academy in Cramlington being the first healthcare building in the UK to achieve WELL Building Standard Gold Certification.
“Our ESG strategy, The Bigger Picture, sits in the heart of our business and decision making and we will continue to deliver impressive buildings that facilitate the delivery of high-quality healthcare services. As the first FTSE 250 B Corp Assura is continually focused on prioritising the positive impact we have on all our stakeholders.”
Completion of net zero carbon schemes at Fareham and Winchester
Following the launch of Assura’s Net Zero Carbon Design Guide1 in 2022, we have now completed our first two development projects committed to achieving net zero carbon for both embodied and operational carbon.
The two projects, in Fareham and Winchester, had a combined total development cost of £13.6 million and are immediately rent producing with the tenants now in occupation.
At Fareham, a refurbishment of an existing high street building into a specialist Children and Family Development Centre for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, the focus was on controlling the internal environment using as little energy as possible. Significant upgrades were made to the roof, walls and windows, which was combined with the installation of an all-electric heat pump system, powered using as much renewable energy as possible from 72 new solar panels installed on the roof.
At Winchester, a new-build city centre development for a medical practice serving over 17,000 patients, an all-electric energy solution has been adopted, as well as maximising solar panels on the roof, to minimise the ongoing running costs for the tenant.
Whole life carbon assessments are now being updated and finalised for each site to reflect the materials used during construction to calculate the final embodied carbon required to be offset.
In line with UK Green Building Council guidelines, actual energy consumption will be monitored at both sites over the first 12 months of operation to compare performance against design assumptions with appropriate adjustments and offset credits then acquired to ensure operational net zero has been achieved.
First healthcare building in the UK to achieve WELL Building Standard Gold Certification
Assura’s flagship development in Cramlington, the Northumbria Health and Care Academy, completed in 2024, has been awarded Gold Certification under the WELL Building Standard2. It is the first healthcare building of its kind to achieve this in the UK.
The Northumbria Health and Care Academy, let to the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust on a 30-year lease, provides training to nurses, midwives and allied health professionals such as physiotherapists, radiographers, podiatrists and occupational therapists.
